The
small college town on the outskirts of London bustled with activity
as the students were released from the confines of the classroom to
roam about the quaint and small campus. They quickly spilled out
into the surrounding residential neighborhoods, most traveling in
packs of three or four.

They
discussed studies and professors, girls, boys and the usual imaginary
hardships of college life. Most of the students were from the upper
classes of society, so the drudge of any work, much less homework,
was a foreign concept to a majority of the academics.

A
few misfits, however, dotted the landscape of the wave of students.
Their clothes were not as fashionable, and their arms were more
loaded with books. Some had found friends amidst their elite
classmates, others had found kindred spirits of like backgrounds, and
still others walked in solitary silence.

Those
who were alone looked nervously over their shoulders.

A
single strawberry blond, short hair and with a short stature, was one
of those poor outcasts resigned to a fate without many acquaintances,
much less friends. Her arms were filled with books on police
etiquette and military course work, but her sides were empty of
anyone walking beside.

She
kept her head down as she slowly walked into the neighborhoods, most
filled with large, heavy oaks. A few of the pairs followed suit and
she found herself walking behind two boys who spoke loudly to one
another as they jested about sports, girls, and unpleasant
professors.

She
was disinterested in their conversation until they turned to the
subject which had been haunting the campus for some years.

The
disappearance of poor students.

Everyone
knew the stories of the missing students. The rumors had started
some fifteen years ago, long before any of the current students but
short enough for some faculty members to remember the beginnings.

The
first had started ordinarily enough. Like any usual disappearance
the police had tracks down her last known whereabouts, and
unfortunately they'd been unable to find any trace of the student.

Then
a second one had occurred a mere month after the first, and with
identical circumstances the police had been as baffled as before. No
trace of the missing person, not even a lost shoe or dropped book.
It was as if they had been picked out of thin air and taken out of
existence.

Then
mysteriously the multiple crime had stopped, and soon the memories of
the missing students had disappeared from the town. It wasn't as
if they'd had any friends to begin with, and they had been orphans
who had received scholarships from the school, so no family came to
argue against closing the cases.

After
a few years' absence another student had disappeared, this time a
young man. The previous two had been girls, so the pattern of the
assailants had changed. The move from female to male, however,
proved to be no more fruitful in the locals' investigation, so then
they had called in national officials to handle the cases.

After
a year of research, the state police had been as unsuccessful as the
local department in solving the case. The books had again been
closed as the investigation wound down, and again no public outcry
had occurred because of the student's low status on the campus.

The
disappearances had ceased for a full five years before another
surfaced. Again a female student, poor and alone, had gone missing.
This time the local force didn't bother beginning their own report,
but contacted Scotland Yard for immediate help. The Yard had
grudgingly responded to the local work and had done their best by
placing their most able officers on the case.

This
time the investigation had been different.

The
principle investigator, a man named Harry Sanders, had been following
the case since he had joined the force. With the new disappearance
he had buried himself in old records and new accounts, and there had
been hushed whispers about him having found something secret hidden
in the old files.

And
then he had simple vanished.

The
strange disappearance of the lead investigator had sparked national
outcry and the force had stepped up their search for both the missing
students and their own officer. They had attempted to look over Mr.
Sanders' files for some clues, but the apartment he had been
staying at had mysteriously burnt the day following his
disappearance. With the files all but lost and no leads to follow,
the casebook had been closed once more.

Until
the previous month.

"Do
you think the girl just ran away?" the shorter, stockier boy asked
his taller friend. "Or that maybe the guy might come after us?"
he added in a frightened tone as he looked about the trees
suspiciously.

"They
had obviously been picked out for their poor status and lack of
family" the other boy noted with some disdain at the words. "So
I doubt we would qualify to be such rabble."

Seras
held her tongue at the slight, and continued to listen to their
conversation.

"Do
you have any ideas who it might be, Mike?" his friend asked in a
fawning manner.

"Perhaps,
John" Mike replied with an air of importance. "But the police
certainly won't listen to reason when it comes to their old cases."

"Reason,
Mike?" John repeated in question.

"Of
course" his superior replied as he sighed in fake grief. "It has
to be a psychopath who obviously has a strange infatuation with the
poor."

Seras
was unimpressed by his powers of deduction, though she did manage to
remain silent in word and step as she followed them. She was thus
grateful as they turned down a street and took their conversation
with them, but she soon missed the company as she realized the
sidewalk ahead was empty.

She
had been forced to procure cheap lodgings far from the campus, almost
the entire distance across the small village. The walk usually took
only a half hour or so, which often got her home before the sun set,
but today she had been released late because of an appointment with a
professor.

Seras
had tried to beg out of the meeting, but the teacher had been adamant
as it had concerned her final grades for the class. Therefore she'd
had no choice but to agree to their demands, and by the time the
discussion had finished the sun had began dropping below the low
hills.

Now
here she walked, alone and with night having fallen upon the streets.
The large oaks loomed over her as she strode by the brightly lit
houses, the sole solace in the growing gloom. Every now and again
laughter wafted down to the lonely sidewalk, and Seras took heart in
the pleasing sound.

However,
she had an unsettling feeling of being watched.

Nervously
she looked over her shoulder, but she could see nothing but the empty
street and row of houses along both sides. The leaves sifted
uneasily in a light breeze and her heart thumped faster as she told
her feet to move. Her steps echoed along the cement as she hugged
her books to herself in fear.

Then
the silence was broken by the soft crunch of car tires upon the road.

With
some surprise, for she could not see any headlights, Seras turned
around and was suddenly grabbed.

She
thrashed in her captor's arms as her books fell to the ground and a
hand clapped over her mouth. She could see another assailant pick up
the dropped items and she felt the first person begin to drag her to
a black sedan waiting at the curb.

The
back passenger door was opened and Seras was roughly shoved into the
seat into the waiting arms of another stranger. Then a cloth with an
unusual aroma was pressed against her face and she felt herself grow
weaker as she inhaled the smell.

And
that's the last she remembered, until she woke up in the strange
room.

Seras
slowly opened her eyes and felt a sense of dizziness overwhelm her
head as she groaned in pain. She cautiously rose to a sitting
position and, holding her dazed head, she looked around.

The
room she found herself in was completely covered in white, block
walls. Bright lights were attached to the ceiling some twenty feet
above, and their glare nearly blinded her as she quickly turned away.
The floor was made of white vinyl, as was the ceiling, and only a
single door broke the monotony of the structure.

The
only other object in the room appeared to be a strange black box at
the far end of the door.

Cautiously
Seras stood to her feet and looked from afar at the box. She had an
unknown dread of the thing, and distance was what she wanted as she
noticed many strange markings and unidentifiable words upon the
surface.

That's
when she noticed the lights were slowly dimming.

With
a frantic cry she looked wildly around and saw the door as her only
hope for escape. She ran toward the exit, but she could find no
handle, though a small window appeared to be at the top.

"Help!"
she yelled as she pounded against the door. "Someone help me!"

No
one replied as the lights finally went out and the room was enveloped
in darkness.

Then
there was a slight creak, and something heavy dropped on the ground.

Seras
swung around and pressed her back against the door. Her breathing
came out in gasps of terror as she felt her heart race in her chest.
She looked helplessly into the dark but her eyes could make out
nothing as an indescribable dread nearly overwhelmed her.

"W-who's
t-there?" she asked in a whisper as she reached out to grasp the
wall to her right. "A-anyone?"

Seras
shrieked as her outstretched arm was suddenly grabbed and she was
pulled against a body. Their skin was cold to the touch as a hand
wrapped itself tightly around her wrist and their height was greater
than her own.

"Another
so soon?" a smooth voice, that of a male's, asked as another cool
hand cupped her chin. The person lifted her head up and she shook at
she saw a pair of dark red eyes blazing in the shadows. "They
spoil me."

Seras
could find no words to reply and she felt herself shaking in fear as
the eyes moved closer.

"Perhaps
I should give them a gift" he cooed as his eyes seemed to smile in
wicked mischief. "And you..." he began, but his voice seemed to
drift off he seemed to tilt his head and cool breath tingled her
neck.

Seras'
eyes shot wide open as she felt a pair of sharp teeth brush against
her skin and she jerked backwards in ta fit of survival. Her captor
merely laughed as she thrashed and twisted wildly in his hard and
unbreakable grasp.

"A
good response. Not typical nor so strong" he mused as his free
hand took hold of her waist and stopped her struggles as he pressed
her against his body. "But futile for your plan" he spoke as she
again felt his teeth on her neck.

Seras
cried out as two punctured her skin and she felt her blood pour from
the tiny wounds. Her body froze and she could don nothing as his
lips sealed themselves over the punctures and he began suckling her
life.

She
grew drowsy with the loss of blood and her slowly settled upon the
person's shoulder. He chuckled against her throat, sending a
strangely comforting vibration through her body, as he pulled away
from her neck.

"Quite
bold" he softly whispered, so lightly that she wasn't sure she
heard anything. He paused for a moment, and then she felt his lips
again press against her neck. "For the memory" he softly
whispered as he slowly lowered her onto the cold floor and released
her from his grasp.

Seras
briefly opened her eyes as she noticed the lights above were turning
on and for a moment she glimpsed the silhouette of a tall gentleman
standing over her. Then her strength failed and her eyes closed as
sight, along with consciousness, vanished.

Seras
felt as if she had been asleep for but a brief moment, as the floor
was still cold and hard. She couldn't move, much less speak, but
she could feel the vibrations of feet as people approached where she
lay.

"Must
they all be so pretty?" a haughty voice asked above her as the
footsteps stopped.

"He
vill eat nothing less" another person, one with an accent,
commented. She sensed someone kneel beside her and touch the marks
upon her neck. Then the hand stiffened and jerked back. "She is
still alife!"

"What?!"
the first replied as she felt another hand grab her wrist.
"I-impossible!" he stammered as he dropped her wrist. "He's
never left one alive!"

"It
appears he truly has left us a present" the foreign man spoke as a
hint of amusement tinged his surprised tone. "We must make the
most of it while there is still time."

"Time
before what, doctor?" the other asked.

"Before
she turns into a ghoul."

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.